Sump issues when car on rams

Hi there!

I just bought my own dyno and im trying to fit it in my shop. A lot of people come around and give me advies, good or bad. What does come up almost every time is that the car will be at an angle when on ramps. This could, they tell me, produce sump problems. What is your idea about this? Is this true? of yet another myth? Thanks in advance!

Kind regards,

Vincent

Cars drive up and down hills at full power all the time. I don't think your angles will be that steep. If you were really concerned for a particular vehicle, you could jack the front and put some platforms under the wheels.

It's not an issue in my experience. It's worth considering that while there will be a small angle involved, there is also no cornering or acceleration/braking force being applied to the oil in the sump which can force it away from the pickup.

Inclination and acceleration have a similar affect in physics. As an example, most modern cars can pull at least -1.0g acceleration when braking in a straight line - that will have about the same effect on the oil in the sump as inclining the stationary vehicle to 45deg. So when you consider the inclination of say 5deg on the dyno ramps it is probably not even equivalent to a gentle drive around the block...

Here's an interesting old video that is kind of relevant - Porsche simulating oil surge effects of a road car on a race track: https://youtu.be/Ny9xl7iWayU